Portrait Sculptures & Busts

Studying portrait sculptures and busts in France, Colorado, and Nevada, instructors were adamant: portrait sculpture must be created from living models. I followed that rule . . . until I was commissioned to sculpt portraits of the nine men lost in the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster. Here, I couldn't work from life. I was forced to sculpt from photos.

The difference between sculpting from life and from photographs is like the difference between checkers and chess: with one you simply deal with what you see, while with the other you must consider the ramifications of your actions several moves ahead. While I still love sculpting busts from live sittings, despite the challenge, I am also drawn to sculpting from photographs because for those commissions, the families have nothing else.